TomBettle

Adamant is quite easy fishing and you should find good success with big Whiting more or less across the whole bank/s. Personally, I have found the eastern end of the shoal better than the west. Across the Adamantand particularly towards the South watch out for long strings of pots which cover the area. My own favourite Whiting method is a set of small feathers with either a baby squid or a strip of mackeral hanging off them. Fish as light as you want and you should catch plenty right through the tide (although the first and last two hours of the flood have (for me) always been a tad busier). Don't forget to drop a big pennel squid bait down. There is a slim chance of a cod, but also some seriously big Undualte Ray cruising around with every chance of a 20lb fish. Tom

Charlie Is that PB in the background of the pic with the boys? If so were you on AS? Tom

Sounds like a great day guys. Well done! I could only dream about fishing as I cruised back to Weymouth with Quest II. Still it was lovely to be on the water. Well done Sam & Dan especially. Tom

I have been sucked in through work as the engines come across with the boats, but I absolutely love Suzuki. On "Nautibusiness" I have a 140Hp and it whispers at tick over and you can still have a fairly normal conversation flat out. Very economical, sensible to service and they seem very reliable. I have sold dozens and dozens bolted to the back of our boats and I haven't hear of one with a problem yet, whereas I have seen "dodgy" engines from nearly all of the other manfacturers. If I was out buying again I would 100% get another Suzuki. Tom

NICE BASS!

So much for the met office forecast. An almost flat sea and gentle SW2 gave me a lovely run back to Weymouth. Will the foecasters ever get it right? Tom

Well, Quest II has had a great trime in Poole, but the time has come for my girl to go home and come hell or high water she has to go back tomorrow. Forecast isn't nice so it will be a lumpy old ride, but she will get me home safely. ...The good news is my Cap Camarat "Nautibusiness" is now in the water and got a respectable 37knots on the GPS today in a short buzz around Poole Harbour. She is a top boat too, just gets a bit chilly this time of year. Good luck to all in the flounder comp, think you guys will be fine, but pity anyone planning on heading offshore.... ME! Tom

Nice tackle! IGFA rated Momoi line? I agree Duncan, beautifully thumbed....

Not sure if I am looking at the right thing, but that is a lovely rod and reel! Finnor Ahab 80W and Star 80lb Class if I am not mistaken......

Arrrrh it's so pretty! Happy christmas and a very fishy new year! Tom

Would love to be there, but unfortunately Quest II has to go home to Weymouth (subj to weather). My other boat, Nautibusiness, is here now, but unfortunately even with my ledgendary boat handling skills (NOT!) I cannot drive both at the same time. Tom

Coddy Just as you approach the last section of the Bill (from Weymouth or the East) you will see the main Portand light on the end, but before then there are two smaller lighthouses. One is near the cliff edge and one littleish one is right near the top. The contours shown on your plotter / fishfinder become the mark known as Lights in One as these two lighthouses line up. If I remember properly they line up in a roughy East by East South East Direction. We have fishd this area a fair bit and find that anywhere from the line of pots close in to about a mile or two off will produce good fish, however the bass boats seem to be quite a bit more specific. Tom

Are you on your own boat or charter? What do you want to go for? Bass, Whiting, Cod, Pollock, Mixed? Going to be big tides so anchoring for Conger and Huss etc in deeper water will be hard work, but: The Bass fishing should still be in full swing drifting between Lights in One and the main Portland Race. I think Rich is better placed to advise here as I give up through frustration over tackle losses, however if you get it right you will have a great day with small to medium sized fish. The Whiting fishing should really be good anchored on the Adamant Bank with mackeral and baby squid being top baits to either baited feathers, paternoster, Portland rig or flowing trace. Don't forget to put a second rod over with a big multi squid bait for the chance of a Cod or big Undulate Ray. The offshore wrecks will begin showing the big winter Pollock and you can have a bumper day with fairly light tackle and good sized fish well into double figures. If you don't mind the journey then going well west towards the Abbotsbury Bouy will turn up some cracking Whiting with a really good chance of a Cod or a Bass. Close in round to the west of the Bill will produce good mixed fishing over the M2 or any of the rough ground. Tom

Is a really good mark for Conger and Huss / general rough ground, but the tide piddles through there so pick a small one to anchor.

You will have to remove the offending canvas from the boat (don't mind popping down to do it for you Duncan, just need permission given). Under Cover Awnings in Shirley (don't have their number right now) are absolutely 1st class. Give John Heinz a call their and they will sort you out quickly. If you want, I can collect the awning tomorrow afternoon (call me on 07780687795 or email me at work) and drop it to them on Friday as I am in Sarisbury Green for a hand over. If they can do it I'll either pick it back up for you or get it delivered to me when someone is passing. You must let me know though Duncan as I am only in the office until 10:30 tomorrow and then over in Weymouth looking for a sub dealer. Tom PS: Their are local Poole companies, but I don't know their work.

Hi Charlie We most certainly never caught them on lures in the Bristol Channel, but the point I made was that as soon as the Sprats arrived the fish moved up in the water and we really struggled to hook them on the bottom. Tom

The cod methods in the north east and also the Varne Bank etc along with our own Summer cod methods all follow this tack and work tremendously well, however it does tend to be a Summer technique. I don't know why we don't try it in the Winter, but would assume that it is to do with water clarity, food, temperature and relative activity from the fish. I do remember catching a lot of Codling and medium sized fish in the Bristol Channel. About mid December the sprat shoals used to come in and the fish would move up in the water column for a period of time making them very hard to catch on the bottom. Maybe we experience similar problems here with the Cod chasing the baitfsh... maybe lures will work... Someone brave enough to stop catching doggies for a day please give it a go an let us know! Tom

Have just read it Adam. Fascinating stuff! Wouldn't it be fantastic if a breeding population were moving back into the area. Hopefully we may find out oneday, but lets keep it a secret... sshhhhh! Tom

Well done Adam, another nice fish to the BW team! When out on Saturday I was trying to explain to the misses that luck only plays a small part with many more factors involved and I think you have clearly proved that! Spotted BW at few minutes after 9 heading down the 338 so assumed then that you had plumbed for a comfy start and a bash at the cod instead of the bass. Once again, well done and maybe you can impart on the rest of us struggling mortals how the hell to catch a winter cod... (...dedication, putting in the time and not disapearing over the horizon for the easy option of a conger probably helps!) Keep them coming Tom

Mike Knowing your likeing for tights... A pair of nice fishnets may have caught you anything you wanted. Tom

Nice 100 dernier woolly warmers is the answer to everything.

My other half, Abbie, has never caught anything bigger than a Mackeral so I took her out to the A Sky for a bash at some snakes. Fairly meaty tide run when we arrived at about 09:00 and 2lb plus needed, but the moment it began to ease the little blighters came on the feed. Nothing big, but every bait was getting snaffled by fish in the 20lb to 25lb bracket. Trouble was, Abbie was struggling to hang on to them and reel at the same time so after a lot of efforts, a number of fish to the boat and a load more dropped through fannying around I decided to come in onto the banks and arrived to what seemed like a car park with boats everywhere. The chatter on the radio was pessimistic with not a lot being caught, but we gave it a go with the first of the flood and were straight in to a stack of pout and dogs along with a lone Whiting and a couple of small eels around 15lb. Certainly not a day to remember for a regular angler, but Abbie was dead chuffed that she now new what it felt like to hold my throbbing rod and see a very grumpy eel on the surface. Tom

Rich I take it you mean the chap with the RIB and full crew that was tanking it back at 50mph from Cowes fireworks a year and a half ago? Messed himself and his crew up quite badly. I was out that night and was passed by them travelling at break neck speed at Calshott. It was only because I was heading up the Hamble that I wasn't first on the scene. Didn't even know it had happened until the next day even though it was only half a mile away. Drinkng on driving boats, can be just as dangerous as cars and then driving at speed the consequences can be horrific. Tom

Absolute ruggish! Are you sugesting that 14, 21 or even 23 kts are possible with say a displacement hull with say an 18hp 2 cyl diesel? Of course not. There is no such figure as a crusing speed that is applicable to all boats. Cruising speed is and can ONLY be what a helmsman decides on the day, to suit the conditions AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WHAT THE BOAT IS CAPABLE OF. The next thing will be someone asking what a comfortable cruising speed is Vs maximum cruising speed Vs top speed. Mad Mike Mike The quote you have taken from Duncan refers directly to Coddy's own boat on the figures that Coddy himself povided. Cruising speed is the boats most comfortable, fuel efficient speed that still provides reasonable progress through the water for the particular hull type. It IS down to the boat driver to a very great extent, but if you own a plaining hull, but decide to potter around at 6 knots that would not be regarded as cruising speed as it is not seen to be making reasonable progress for that particular hull. 6 knots is regarded as displacement speed. In addition pottering around at 6 knots in a planning hull is often not very comfortable as a lot (not all) of plaining boats "wander" or "swan neck" at displacement speed and in open water can sometimes be a handful at slow speeds. Tom

Strikes me this is the right forum!!!!!